Nationwide rallies and protests are taking place again this weekend across the country.

There is a fragile “temporary truce” in place but this is just a pause in Israel’s genocidal rampage in Gaza.

The focus of the protests is shifting to BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel because of its apartheid policies against Palestinians.

“PSNA will be driving these policies to isolate apartheid Israel just as we helped isolate apartheid South Africa several decades ago” says PSNA National Chair John Minto. “Israel’s regime must be forced to give equal rights to Palestinians just as happened in South Africa”

The three aims of BDS are:

• End Israel’s military occupation of Palestine – the longest military occupation in modern history.
• Force Israel to allow Palestinian refugees to return to their land and homes in Palestine
• End Israel’s apartheid policies against Palestinians – every Palestinian “from the river to the sea” suffers from these well-documented apartheid policies

The deathly silence from the new government, which has yet to issue a single word of criticism of Israel, is unacceptable.

“There is no place for cowardice in the face of genocide”.

“It is the failure of western governments, New Zealand included, to hold Israel to account for its crimes against the Palestinian people that is behind Israel’s genocidal rampage in Gaza today.”

If New Zealand and other western governments had stood up and been counted earlier the dreadful events of the past six weeks could have been averted.”

The details of the rallies and marches around the country are on our facebook page here

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